Remote, automatic reporting system and method

ABSTRACT

One or more parameters such as time is reported to a center using a form. The center then automatically extracts data from the form and converts it for storage and subsequent processing or review. The form is preferably a physical form, which the sender fills in and then faxes to the center. Image capture, registration, and feature recognition routines are included to enable the center to extract the reported data with no need for data reentry or human intervention. The invention is particularly suitable for employees who need to submit time sheets, expense reports, and the like to an employer, or for automatic analysis of submitted inventory reports, product orders, etc.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to a system and a method for reporting andtracking one or more parameters such as time or sales, or for placingorders, etc., especially where the person or organization that createsthe report or order is remote from the person or organization that is toreceive and process the report or order.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Much of ones work life is tracked and measured. Time cards, timesheets, time clocks and time-tracking software, for example, arefeatures of the modern workplace that are seemingly as unavoidable asthe hierarchies that require them. Consequently, following a routinerepeated daily by millions in almost every industrialized country, thosewhose time is to be reported complete a report such as some type of cardor sheet or physical or on-screen form. The report is then passed to oneor more other people, such as a payroll or billing clerk, a projectmanager, etc. The data on the report is then usually entered manuallyinto some type of bookkeeping or similar tracking software.

[0005] This conventional process is, however, as rife with possibilitiesfor error as it is widespread. For example, every time someone mustenter information, be it numerical or textual or both, manually ontopaper, there is the possibility of error, since someone else willusually later have to read and interpret what has been written. Thelikelihood of error is often lessened when using time cards that arepunched by machine, but even then the chance of error is not eliminated,because as soon as the data on the card is entered manually into atracking system, there is a risk of misinterpretation or simply justtyping errors. Moreover, even if everyone in the chain of reporting wereinfallible, the process itself contains an unavoidable inefficiencywhenever reported data must be reentered into a tracking system—the veryneed for data reentry requires both time and an employee to do thereentry.

[0006] One way to reduce the need for data reentry would of course be tohave the employee enter data himself into the tracking system. Thedisadvantages of this are, however, plain. First, the employee may notbe comfortable with or competent in using the time-tracking software,especially if the software is based on a web browser. Second, evenassuming that every reporting employee has convenient access to asuitable computer terminal, it would be wasteful to load multiple copiesof the time-tracking software into each terminal. The alternative ofhaving several employees having to share a single instance of thesoftware to report their time, for example, late

[0007] Because the modern world is full of reports and orders, theproblems identified above in the context of reporting time arise inother contexts as well, where other parameters than time must bereported instead of, or in addition to, time. For example, employeesmust often file expense and travel reports, or sales reports.

[0008] Moreover, parameters such as time and expenses are not the onlytypes of information that frequently need to be reported. Employees oraffiliates may need to file reports concerning the progress of projects,or the status of inventory, for example, or vendors may wish to sendbills quickly in order to speed up the payment process.

[0009] Furthermore, similar problems occur even in contexts where theone reporting information is not in any way associated with therecipient of the report. This will often occur in the case of processingof customer orders. As is well known, one option offered by today'stechnology is on-line ordering via the Internet. However, not allcompanies have, or wish to have, a web site, and not all potentialcustomers are comfortable with the thought of placing orders over suchan insecure channel. Moreover, high-tech, on-line ordering and orderprocessing are not always appropriate. For example, it would in mostcases be too time-consuming and tedious to expect several co-workers inan office to have to go on-line and fill in browser-based forms simplyto place advanced orders for lunch at one of their favorite restaurants.

[0010] What is needed is therefore a system for reporting informationsuch as time worked, expenses, inventory, orders, etc., that is easy touse, that does not require the user to have specialized technologyavailable, that allows for easy verification, that eliminates the needfor manual data reentry, and that is readily adaptable to many differentreporting contexts. This invention provides such a system, and a relatedmethod of operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The invention provides a method, and a corresponding systemimplementation, for collecting reports, such as time sheets, expensereports, order forms, etc., of at least one parameter, such as time,expenses, order information, and so on. A central server is included forautomatically receiving from any of a plurality of senders, via atransmission channel, an electronic representation of an image of aphysical form. The form has a plurality of data fields, eachcorresponding to an indicator of at least a partial value of at leastone of the parameters. Software modules are included within aform-processing application for automatically identifying the locationof the data fields in the received representation of the image of theform; for automatically extracting from the identified data fields theat least partial values of the corresponding parameters; and forautomatically storing the extracted values in a predetermined format ina memory for subsequent processing.

[0012] A sender, for example a reporting employee or ordering customer,preferably causes the electronic representation of the image of thephysical form to be generated by using a conventional facsimile machineto transmit the report form. This allows the transmission channel to bea standard telephone line.

[0013] The stored, extracted values of the reported parameters may alsobe transferred to an external recipient via a network. All processing ofthe physical form after transmission by the sender up to and includingtransfer to the external recipient via the network thereby takes placeautomatically; this avoids all need for manual data reentry and otherintermediate manual processing.

[0014] Each data field in the report preferably indicates a quantifiableor itemizable value of a corresponding one of the parameters.Nonetheless, other non-quantifiable and non-itemizable entries such as asignature may also be included on reports. In this case, the centralserver preferably also stores the received electronic representation ofthe image of the physical form in the memory so that even thenon-quantifiable and non-itemizable entries by the user onto thephysical form are made available for subsequent review.

[0015] The form-processing application preferably also includes asoftware module that receives annotations from intended recipients ofthe form and stores these annotations in the memory along with thestored extracted values of the respective received form.

[0016] The form processing application preferably identifies thelocation of the data fields automatically by performing the followingsub-steps: storing an electronic representation of a template of each ofa plurality of physical forms; automatically identifying each receivedform by performing a best-fit comparison of each received electronicrepresentation of the image of the corresponding physical form with thestored electronic representations of the templates; automaticallyregistering the received electronic representation of the receivedphysical form image with the best-fit electronic templaterepresentation; and matching the data fields in the received electronicrepresentation of the received physical form image with correspondingdata fields in the best-fit electronic template representation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017]FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates the main hardware andsoftware components of a basic embodiment of the system according to theinvention.

[0018]FIG. 2 illustrates one of the many types of forms that may be usedto report information using the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the main hardware and softwarecomponents of a basic embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment,it is assumed that a sender 100 is to transmit some kind of report to acentral system 400 (“central server” or simply “center”). The senderdoes this by recording the information to be reported on a form 200,which is then sent using a transmission device 120, via a channel 300 tothe central system 400. Upon receiving the transmitted form, the centerthen processes it in order to extract the data from the form and, afteroptional further processing, store it in a data base. Before theindividual hardware and software components of the invention arediscussed in greater detail, these terms and concepts are firstexplained.

[0020] The sender 100 will be any person or group that needs to reportinformation to the center 400. Note that this invention may be used withany number of senders. In the most commonly anticipated use of theinvention, the sender will be an employee who needs to report timeworked, or some other parameter such as travel expenses, a vacationrequest, sales, inventory, etc. or any combination of such parameters.The sender may, however, also be someone not directly associated withthe center, such as a vendor submitting a bill or a customer submittingan order, such that the center acts as an intermediary.

[0021] The transmission device 120 is preferably a conventionalfacsimile (“fax”) machine. There are several advantages to using a faxmachine. First, whereas not all workplaces have convenient Internetconnections, almost all have at least one fax machine. Second, almostevery sender in the modern work environment will be familiar with theuse and operation of a fax machine. Third, the channel 300 used by a faxmachine is usually the public telephone network, which allows not onlyfor a dedicated, point-to-point connection with the center 400, but alsois generally more reliable than a non-dedicated network such as theInternet. Fourth, all modern fax machines provide an easily understood,immediate confirmation of successful transmission or of failure. Fifth,sending fax machines also usually transmit identifying information suchas the telephone number from which they are transmitting. This makes itpossible for recipients, such as the center 400, to identify the sourceof a transmission.

[0022] It would also be possible, however, to use the invention withother transmission devices than a fax machine and other connections thana telephone line. One possible alternative, for example, would be to usea conventional computer to which a scanner is connected. The sendercould then scan in the completed form he wishes to send, then transmitthe file in some predefined format to the center, for example as anattachment to electronic mail (“e-mail”), directly as a bit-mapped fileusing fax-modem software, etc. In this case, the transmission channel300 could involve a network other than, or in addition to, the telephonesystem, such as the Internet or a dedicated network (an “intranet”)within an enterprise. Note that a fax machine itself embodies a scanner,and as such acts primarily as a combination of a scanner and a modem.All that is required to use the invention is some device that allows aphysical form to be converted into an electronic representation that canbe transmitted to the center 400; moreover, the transmission channel 300may be wired, such as a telephone line, or wireless.

[0023] The form 200 may, likewise, be of many different types. In themost common use of the invention, the form will be a conventional paperform (one or more sheets) on which the parameter(s) to be reported ismarked in some visible manner, along with optional associatedinformation such as the sender's identification, signature, etc. Eachparameter to be reported is preferably amenable to quantification oritemization on a list in order to improve the system's ability tointerpret its value correctly and unambiguously. For example, time canbe reported in hours and minutes; inventory can be reported by markingan item number and a quantity; orders can be reported by marking a boxnext to the name of the desired items, along with a quantity;performance can be itemized as “excellent,” “good,” “acceptable,”“unacceptable,” etc.

[0024] Handwritten or printed comments, on the other hand, orsignatures, cannot be itemized or quantified as readily, if at all. Asis discussed further below, however, the invention allows suchinformation to be included as well, although it will typically not beprocessed in the same way as information that can be quantified oritemized.

[0025] The sender 100 will usually be remote from the center 400. Notethat the term “remote” does not necessarily imply distance, but rather,in the context of this invention, simply that the form is converted intoan electronic representation and is transmitted over some channel to thecenter in some way.

[0026] In the simple embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, thecenter 400 is the recipient of the transmitted form 200. This would bethe case, for example, where the center is in the payroll department ofa large company and is used to process time sheets sent in by off-siteemployees. It would also be possible, however, for the center to act asan intermediary for other parties who are the ones primarily interestedin the data extracted from the forms transmitted from different users.Extracted data can then be transmitted (according to a known schedule orin response to a request) to the other recipient parties in anyconventional manner, for example in the form of a summary, a detailedreport, one or more electronic files in a chosen formal, etc., or anycombination of such methods. For example, FIG. 1 shows one recipient500, which communicates with the center 400 in any conventional mannervia a network 700 such as the Internet. Parties to whom thecenter-collected data is transferred may then process this data in anyway they see fit, from a simple review of a report to a full-scaleanalysis of the reported parameter (such as time worked) using otherapplications.

[0027]FIG. 1 also shows the preferred structure of the center 400, whichmay be configured as a conventional computer system controlled by asystem administrator 401. As in other computer systems, the center 400includes system hardware 402 with at least one processor (PROC), systemsoftware 406, such as an operating system (OS), device drivers, etc.,and one or more memory devices 440, which may be any combination ofhigh-speed, volatile devices such as RAM memory and mass storage devicessuch as disks.

[0028] The center also preferably includes a conventional networkconnection and I/O device 410 such as a modem and/or network interfaceconnector (NIC), depending on the type(s) of transmission channel(s) 300used to send forms. As is well known, the connection device 410 servesas an interface between the channel 300 and the system hardware andsoftware and transforms a data stream suitable for transmission over thechannel into a corresponding data stream that can be processed withinthe center, and vice versa. The function of a modem and NIC is wellknown and is therefore not described further here.

[0029] In order to convert the transmitted form into data suitable forprocessing, the center 400 includes an image capture module 420. Thismodule may be implemented with existing technology, and converts thedata stream received by the modem/NIC component 410 into a filecontaining a digital representation of the image of the sent form. Knownfax-server software performs this function, for example, by receiving afax and converting it into an image file in any of several standardformats, such as TIF, GIF, JPEG, HTML, or a standard bit-map. All thatis needed according to the invention is for an image of the transmittedform to be generated such that the various data fields of the form canbe located and interpreted. As FIG. 1 illustrates, the output from theimage capture module 420 is preferably stored directly in the memory 440for later retrieval of the raw image as received from the sender.

[0030] As everyone who has ever received a fax knows, the faxing processoften skews and warps the document faxed, and noise and inaccuraciesoften corrupt the image further. In addition, most modern fax machinesdeliberately compress the transmitted image in order to make room to adda header. In essence, a form 200 can be considered to consist of anouter boundary, within which information is made visible in differentfields, that is, portions of the form. The faxing process can distortnot only the outer boundary, but also the absolute and relativepositions of the fields, as well as their shape. Before data can beextracted from the various fields of the form, it is therefore necessaryto identify where the fields are.

[0031] The form processing module therefore includes a sub-module 431,which determines the geometry of the received form image. Any knownregistration algorithm may be used to perform this function, and thereare several commercially available image analysis routines that aresuitable for use in the invention. Many algorithms are known, forexample, that locate certain predetermined geometric shapes such asrectangles.

[0032] Other algorithms are more general, and match a given image withone or more templates. This is the preferred algorithm in the invention,since it does not restrict the layout of the forms as much as simpleshape-location routines. Typically, these algorithms compare the testimage (in this case, the received image) with a template and then usesknown mathematical techniques to find a match that is the “best” in somepredetermined sense, which is usually the minimization of an “energy” or“cost” function. For example, if each image (the test image and thetemplate) is represented as a matrix of picture elements (“pixels”),then the pixel matrices can be compared element-by-element, for example,by forming the absolute value of the difference in their gray-scalevalues. For binary, bit-mapped comparisons, a similar result can beobtained by performing a logical “NOT XOR” operation. The test image andtemplate are then mathematically (usually through changing the indexing)translated, rotated, and, in the most advanced algorithms, warped(similar to a technique known as a “rubber sheet transformation”),relative to each other until the sum of the absolute difference values(either as is or squared) is a minimum.

[0033] These algorithms are mathematically similar to holding the formand the template up to a light on top of each other, and then, whilelooking through both, shifting them until they appear to “line up.” Inshort, the geometry module 431 performs a registration of the receivedform image with one or more templates, which are pre-stored in memory.In order to aid registration, the forms may be provided with one or moreregistration markings. The process of registration can then often bespeeded up by using the markings as guides. If several markings areprovided at different locations over the surface of the forms, withknown separations and orientations, then the markings may also be usedto compute local “dewarping” factors that can be applied to the pixelsin a region near the markings.

[0034] In the simplest case, there will be only one template that alltransmitted forms correspond to. In some applications of the invention,however, there may be many different types of forms, for each of whichthere is a corresponding template. One way to determine which templateis to be applied is to establish a different telephone number (ornetwork address) for all senders who are using the same form; thetelephone number to which the form is sent then also identifies theproper form template. Another, automatic method is to compare eachreceived form image with all the templates, only one of which(presumably, the correct one) will minimize the differences with theform image. Yet another method would be to use the identificationfeature of modern fax machines: The standard transmission protocol of afax usually includes the telephone or station numbers of the sending andreceiving devices; if specific templates are associated with certainsending devices, then the number of each sending device 120 can be usedto select the appropriate template. The form processing module 430therefore includes a form identification sub-module 432 that implementsany known routine, such as those described, to determine which form hasbeen received from a sender. Note that the form identificationsub-module may be eliminated if only one form is ever used, or it may beincorporated into other sub-modules.

[0035] Regardless of the chosen registration and form-identificationroutines, once the received form image has been registered with atemplate, the locations of the different data fields will be then alsobe known. The actual data contained in the different data fields canthen be extracted, also using known technology, in a data extractionsubmodule 433. Several methods for data extraction are known as “opticalcharacter recognition” (OCR), which typically recognizes alphanumericsymbols and converts them into corresponding ASCII (or equivalent)character sets; “intelligent character recognition” (ICR), whichtypically also attempts to recognize non-standard fonts and evenhandwriting; “optical mark recognition” (OMR), which determines whethera data field (such as a check box, rectangle, circle, etc.) is filled inor blank; and various combinations and variations of these basicconcepts.

[0036] Once the data on the form has been located and extracted, it willnormally need to be analyzed in one or more ways. The analysis will alsooften depend on which entity or entities are to be the ultimaterecipients of the result of the analysis. For example, if the form is atime sheet, then the analysis may be different for exempt as opposed tonon-exempt employees, that is, those for whom overtime must be paid andthose who are on a fixed salary regardless of hours worked. Hours workedeach day during a pay period will, for example, normally need to besummed, or hours worked for an entire period may need to be associatedwith different projects. The form processing module therefore includes adata analysis sub-module 435 that is programmed using normal techniquesto perform whatever analysis is required in each case.

[0037] Depending on the circumstances, it may also be desirable to beable to add notes or otherwise edit the form data. A correspondingprocessing sub-module 436 may therefore be included to allow this. Forexample, if an employee is reporting time taken as vacation, and thatemployee has exceeded his available vacation time, then a notation tothis effect may be made in the data file in order to flag this for amanager. One or more parties in addition to the sender (in particular, arecipient 500) may also wish to add notations or comments to form data,in particular, to data once it has already been stored in the memory440, as is indicated in FIG. 1 by the direct connection between thesub-module 436 and the memory. In such a multi-party embodiment of theinvention, parties 500 may contact the center 400 and, afterauthentication using a password, add notes to the file into which a formis converted. These notes may be textual, but preferably also includenotes in the form of attached audio files, for example in the widelyused “.wav” format.

[0038] Once a form's data has been extracted and analyzed as needed, itwill normally need to be stored in a format suitable for later retrievaland further analysis and annotation. Different parties may also requestdata storage in different formats. One party may, for example, want tobe able to retrieve data into a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excelwhereas another may want to retrieve data in QuickBooks format. In orderto allow the center to adapt to the needs of external parties, ratherthan forcing them to accept a formatting decision used in the center,the form processing module 430 according to the invention preferablyincludes a format conversion sub-module 437 that converts the data fromwhatever format is chosen to initially represent extracted data(preferably, a generic format) to any of one or more predefined formatsbefore storing the data in memory 440.

[0039] Alternatively, all data could be stored in memory in a formatchosen to meet the needs or preferences of the center 400, in which casethe format conversion submodule could be invoked to reformat stored dataonly when it is to be exported to another party. Note that in the casewhere an external recipient (such as recipient 500 illustrated inFIG. 1) receives form data from the center via the Internet, this meansthat, once the sender transmits a form 200, preferably via fax, allprocessing is carried out automatically—with no need for manual datareentry or other human intervention—even to the point of transferringthe data via the Internet for subsequent processing.

[0040] The sub-modules 431-437 may all be implemented using knownprogramming techniques with conventional hardware support as needed inany given application.

[0041]FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a possible form that could beused in the invention. In practice, of course, each user of the systemwill usually have unique requirements and specifications for the form(s)they will use. The invention is able to accommodate any forms that, asis mentioned above, have data fields in which possible values ofparameters to be reported can be quantified or itemized.

[0042] The form example shown in FIG. 2, however, resembles in structurea form used successfully in tests of a prototype of the invention, inthat it allowed for accurate data extraction when transmitted fromseveral different conventional fax machines. As the various headingsindicate, this example form is set up to enable reporting of time workedover the course of a seven-day week. In this example, hours worked eachday are indicated on a row of entry fields, with columns for the day, aswell as for the parameters “Regular Time” and “Overtime.” For the sakeof clarity, the data entry rows and columns are shown larger than theywere on the test form used in the prototype of the invention. Moreover,the rows for data entry for the days Tuesday through Saturday have beenomitted from FIG. 2, because of space constraints and again for the sakeof clarity. The actual layout of the form will depend on the needs ofthe users; the invention does not require any particular layout orheadings. Note, moreover, that a form may consist of more than one page.

[0043] The illustrated form includes several fields that are preferablypre-printed when the form is delivered to the sender (for example, atthe beginning of a pay period for which he is to report time worked).Examples of such fields are fields for a logo, general information andinstructions.

[0044] A field is also shown for the sender's signature. This will ofcourse usually not be readable by any recognition software, but this isnot necessary according to the invention. Rather, recall that an imageof the sent form is preferably stored as is in the memory 440. If a user(either the administrator 401, or an external party such as a payrollclerk or manager at the sender's employer, etc.) later wishes to verifythat the form was properly signed, then the user will be able toretrieve not only the analyzed data file, but also the original image,on which the signature will appear. This is of course also the case forany other visible feature of the form.

[0045] When using the illustrated form, the sender enters data bydarkening small data “boxes,” each of which is a corresponding datafield. Thus, any amount of time can be indicated, in five minuteincrements, by darkening the appropriate boxes, for example, using apencil or suitable pen or marker. The sender similarly indicates suchinformation as what his employee ID number is. In FIG. 2, the sender hasthus marked that he is employee C4 and that, on Monday, he workedexactly eight regular hours and one hour fifteen minutes of overtime.His weekly total was 40 regular hours and two hours fifteen minutes ofovertime.

[0046] The illustrated form also shows a block “Time Period.” This maybe preprinted, or it, too, may be designed with data boxes that thesender can darken; this would allow copies of a single form to be usedover many time periods.

[0047] The form shown in FIG. 2 also illustrates how registration marks,such as marks 202, 204, may be included on the form as aides to imageregistration and location of the data entry fields, that is, the databoxes. Another field (not shown) may also be included to identify theform and perhaps even the entity (for example, employer) associated withthe report; for example, when the form is created and delivered to theuser, a bar or other standard code that is easily decipherable bysoftware could be included in a form field to aid form identification.

[0048] As part of the data extraction process performed by thesub-module 433, for example, the optical mark recognition, the formprocessing system according to the invention will sense which boxes theuser has darkened. Because the form will have been registered with atemplate, the darkened boxes can be readily associated with the correctdata values for the different parameters to be reported. The dataanalysis submodule 435 may then also carry out such computations ascalculating the total hours reported as worked, which can then be storedalong with the other form data in memory. The calculated total can thenbe checked against the value the sender himself has entered. If thecalculated sum does not match the sum the user entered in the “TotalHours” block, then an annotation to this effect can be made in thestored data file and the administrator can be notified that the form isinvalid because of at least one identified error. The sender can then beinstructed in any known manner to send a correctly completed form.

[0049] Tests have indicated that “boxes” such as those illustrated inFIG. 2, with the values shown within each respective box, were easy touse and understand, and could be recognized by software with very highreliability. Other types of data entry fields may of course be usedinstead. For entering time, for example, two small clock shapes labeled“hours” and “minutes” could be printed on the form; the sender couldthen draw hour and minute “hands” in the respective clock figures toindicate time. A single clock figure could be used instead, on which theuser draws in both hour and minute “hands”; to aid in the distinction,an inner ring could be included to indicate the proper length of thehour hand, the outer ring of the clock indicating the proper length ofthe minute hand.

[0050] As yet another alternative for entering numerical data such ashow many of a particular item the sender wishes to order (or report),the form could include data entry boxes for units, tens, hundreds, etc.Each box could then include light, dotted or dashed lines oriented tocorrespond to the segments of a conventional seven-segment display. Bydarkening the appropriate segments, the sender can “print” the numbersin an unambiguous, handwriting-independent manner. Such data entry boxeshave been used successfully for many years for automatic optical readingof postal codes on mailed envelopes in several Eastern Europeancountries.

We claim:
 1. A method for collecting reports of at least one parametercomprising the following steps: automatically receiving from any of aplurality of senders, via a transmission channel, an electronicrepresentation of an image of a physical form, the form having aplurality of data fields, each corresponding to an indicator of at leasta partial value of at least one of the parameters; automaticallyidentifying the location of the data fields in the receivedrepresentation of the image of the form; automatically extracting fromthe identified data fields the at least partial values of thecorresponding parameters; and automatically storing the extracted valuesin a predetermined format in a memory for subsequent processing.
 2. Amethod as in claim 1, in which the electronic representation of theimage of the physical form is generated using a conventional facsimilemachine, whereby the transmission channel is a standard telephone line.3. A method as in claim 2, further including the step of transferringthe stored extracted values to an external recipient via a network, allprocessing of the physical form after transmission by the sender up toand including transfer to the external recipient via the network therebytaking place automatically.
 4. A method as in claim 1, in which eachdata field indicates a quantifiable or itemizable value of acorresponding one of the parameters, further including the additionalstep of storing the received electronic representation of the image ofthe physical form in the memory, whereby non-quantifiable andnon-itemizable entries by the user onto the physical form are madeavailable for subsequent review.
 5. A method as in claim 1, furtherincluding the step of storing recipient-entered annotations in thememory along with the stored extracted values of the respective receivedform.
 6. A method as in claim 1, further comprising: associating atleast two different physical forms with different senders; andautomatically determining the identity of each sender based on thereceived image of the physical form.
 7. A method as in claim 6, furthercomprising: storing an electronic representation of a template of eachincluded physical form; and automatically identifying received forms byperforming a best-fit comparison of each received electronicrepresentation of the image of one of the physical forms with the storedelectronic representations of the templates.
 8. A method as in claim 1,in which the step of automatically identifying the location of the datafields comprises the following sub-steps: storing an electronicrepresentation of a template of each of a plurality of physical forms;automatically identifying each received form by performing a best-fitcomparison of each received electronic representation of the image ofthe corresponding physical form with the stored electronicrepresentations of the templates; automatically registering the receivedelectronic representation of the received physical form image with thebest-fit electronic template representation; and matching the datafields in the received electronic representation of the receivedphysical form image with corresponding data fields in the best-fitelectronic template representation.
 9. A method as in claim 1, in which:the electronic representation of the image of the physical form isgenerated using a conventional facsimile machine; the transmissionchannel is a standard telephone line at least one of the parameters istime; and the physical form is a time sheet.
 10. A method for collectingreports of at least one parameter comprising the following steps:automatically receiving from any of a plurality of senders, via atransmission channel, an electronic representation of an image of aphysical form, the form having a plurality of data fields, eachcorresponding to an indicator of at least a partial value of at leastone of the parameters; automatically identifying the location of thedata fields in the received representation of the image of the form;automatically extracting from the identified data fields the at leastpartial values of the corresponding parameters; and automaticallystoring the extracted values in a predetermined format in a memory forsubsequent processing; and transferring the stored extracted values toan external recipient via a network, all processing of the physical formafter transmission by the sender up to and including transfer to theexternal recipient via the network thereby taking place automatically;in which: the electronic representation of the image of the physicalform is generated using a conventional facsimile machine, whereby thetransmission channel is a standard telephone line; each data fieldindicates a quantifiable or itemizable value of a corresponding one ofthe parameters, further including the additional step of storing thereceived electronic representation of the image of the physical form inthe memory, whereby non-quantifiable and non-itemizable entries by theuser onto the physical form are made available for subsequent review;the step of automatically identifying the location of the data fieldscomprises the following sub-steps: storing an electronic representationof a template of each of a plurality of physical forms; automaticallyidentifying each received form by performing a best-fit comparison ofeach received electronic representation of the image of thecorresponding physical form with the stored electronic representationsof the templates; automatically registering the received electronicrepresentation of the received physical form image with the best-fitelectronic template representation; and matching the data fields in thereceived electronic representation of the received physical form imagewith corresponding data fields in the best-fit electronic templaterepresentation.
 11. A system for collecting reports of at least oneparameter comprising: a central server that includes: I/O means forautomatically receiving from any of a plurality of senders, via atransmission channel, an electronic representation of an image of aphysical form, the form having a plurality of data fields, eachcorresponding to an indicator of at least a partial value of at leastone of the parameters; form processing means: for automaticallyidentifying the location of the data fields in the receivedrepresentation of the image of the form; for automatically extractingfrom the identified data fields the at least partial values of thecorresponding parameters; and automatically storing the extracted valuesin a predetermined format in a memory for subsequent processing.
 12. Asystem as in claim 11, further comprising: a facsimile machine formingmeans for converting the physical form into the electronicrepresentation and for sending the electronic representation of theimage of the physical form to the central server is generated using aconventional facsimile machine; in which the transmission channel is astandard telephone line.
 13. A system as in claim 11, in which the formprocessing means includes annotation means for receiving and storingrecipient-entered annotations in the memory along with the storedextracted values of the respective received form.